What Happens When You Are Of Not Taking A Decision

Have you ever thought about what happens when you choose not to make a decision—whether in your personal life or professional matters?

Decision-making is perhaps one of the toughest responsibilities anyone faces, especially when it comes to making the right choice. Everyone desires to make the right decision, succeed, and be remembered as a hero. Yet, many people hesitate to decide. The reasons vary:

• Fear of failure, leading to postponement or complete avoidance of decisions, hoping time will resolve the issue.
• Fear of making the wrong choices.
• A naturally indecisive temperament.
• Lack of authority to take decisions.
• Loyalty towards a person and not an organization/institution/country
• And many other personal or situational factors.

Ultimately, whether a decision is right or wrong depends on the outcome—or how others perceive it. But there is a deeper truth: when you choose not to decide, you have, in fact, already made a decision—to remain inactive. And in such cases, someone else will step in and decide on your behalf.

Here is a powerful story taken from Mahabharata centered on Bhishm Pitamaha’s inaction /in-decision

Bhishma, the revered patriarch of Hastinapur, had bound himself by a vow: to protect the throne of Hastinapur at all costs, treating whoever sat on it as his father’s reflection. This oath of loyalty towards the throne clashed with his awareness of the injustices being committed by the Kauravas against the Pandavas ultimately resulting in their banishment from Hastinapur for 13 years.

Bound by his vow, Bhishma refrained from taking a stand against King Dhritarashtra and his son Duryodhana, even though he knew their actions were unjust and destructive. When all signs pointed towards an impending war, Bhishma remained silent. Even Lord Krishna attempted to prevent the conflict—first warning the assembly in King Virat’s court; Draupadi, who had taken a vow not to forgive Kauravas until their destruction as she was humiliated by Duryodana, Dushasana, Karn and Shakuni when Pandavas lost in gambling through cheating .Lord Krishna tried to prevent the war and as a last resort personally going as an emissary to negotiate peace by asking only for five villages for the Pandavas. But Duryodhana rejected this, and war became inevitable.

Had Bhishma taken a firm decision, perhaps the catastrophic war of Mahabharata could have been avoided. In his silence and inaction, the responsibility of decision-making shifted to Duryodhana, Shakuni, Karna, and Dushasana—whose choices led to the destruction of countless great warriors and the annihilation of the Kauravas clan itself.

The lesson is clear: indecision is not escape—it is surrender. By avoiding decisions, you give away your power to others, often with irreversible consequences.

Lessons for Managers from this story

1. Indecision is the worst decision: By your inaction/ not taking decisions, you unconsciously allow others who may not have the right intentions or vision to take charge of the situation. In organizations, if a manager delays or avoids decisions, someone else will fill the vacuum—often in ways that harm the team or company.
2. Delayed action/inaction can escalate crises: The war could perhaps have been avoided if Bhishma had intervened early. Managers who delay decisions /or are indecisive often see small issues grow into major crises, costing time, morale, and resources.
3. Decision-making creates leadership legacy: Bhishma is remembered with reverence but is also criticized for his silence which resulted in war and total annihilation of Kauravas. A manager’s legacy is defined not only by the decisions they made but also by the decisions they avoided.
4. Moral courage is a critical leadership trait: Even great knowledge is futile without courage to act. Managers must cultivate moral courage to stand for what is right, even if it is unpopular.
5. Loyalty should be to principles, not to individuals: Bhishma’s loyalty to the throne outweighed his responsibility toward Hastinapur and its people. Managers too must prioritize organizational values and ethics over blind loyalty to a boss, colleague, or faction.